The margin says Aruta Giovanni Proietto, so he was a foundling (="proietto"). Recorded 13 Dec 1867 in Padula. The birth was reported by Maria Giovanna Maio, daughter of the late Feliciano (Maio), of about age 65. At 3 am on 12 Dec (the previous day), a baby boy was found abandoned in a place set aside for foundlings. He appeared to be about 3 days old. The official who made the record bestowed both the given name and surname on the child, in accordance with the law. There are more details, but probably they would not be of any use to you, since the parents were completely unknown.

Thank you so much carubia. That actually confirms what I heard from my grandmother. She said that he was a foundling, and that he was a blue-eyed blonde. He died when I was an infant and there is only one very old, deteriorated picture of him shortly before he died. But several of his decendents have striking blue or green eyes and/or blonde hair. That always seemed odd in a family of southern Italians.

One other thing - family tradition holds that he knew who his father was. I've read that in small towns like Padula, foundlings were sometimes placed with parent's families, as folks in town pretty much knew who the parents were. It might help to have a complete translation.

One of my Sicilian great-grandfathers had blue eyes and fair hair. Supposedly he was called "Tedescu" (German). My other Sicilian great-grandfather had green eyes, and all his children were very pale skinned. Southern Italians, like Italians in general, are more diverse looking than is commonly thought.

Yeah, it probably wasn't too hard to figure out who the mother was, either. But unless the (unmarried) parents came forward and identified themselves, they couldn't be listed on the birth record.